Worth the Risk
by fantasyfanatic15
Summary: Things take a different turn in the Echo Caves... Hook lets his guard slip, Emma makes a choice. This is basically what I though should have taken place in the Echo Caves scene in episode 3X06. Romance, a bit of angst but quite a happy ending. **Pretty big spoilers for 3X06** Rated T for safety.


**_A/N_**_So this is my first attempt at a one-shot, OUAT story, and a romance. Basically after watching 3X06 I felt really sorry for Hook (I already felt sorry for him anyway!), so I decided to re-write the scene in the Echo Caves the way I hoped it would be. Quite a bit of the beginning dialog and bits and pieces throughout the story is taken directly from the episode, but I added a lot of my own wishful thinking too! Enjoy, and please review!_

**I do not own any of the characters or dialog directly from the episode.**

The Charmings and Hook stood in silence as they stared across the chasm to the pillar of rock where Neal was imprisoned. Emma finally broke the silence, "So what do we need to do?" Hook sighed and turned his pained gaze away from the cage a hundred feet away. "I told you what needs to be done," he said as he faced the others. "Consider this the moment of truth... literally," he attempted his trademark smirk, but it felt forced and wrong. He was just too heartbroken knowing that Emma would momentarily be reunited with her true love.

"Now," he added with feigned bravado, "who wants to kick things off?" Emma's face assumed a sarcastic, yet at the same time nervous expression, "So what? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?" Hook managed a small grin at her words, "I don't know the particulars, only what I've been told." 

"Well, how do you know it will work?" David spoke up, worry etched into his face and clear in his words. Hook took a deep breath and exhaled it before turning around to stare into the abyss below them. Then glancing up at Neal for a moment, "There's only one way to find out I suppose," the pirate said with resignation. Turning so that his deep blue eyes met Emma's hazel ones, Hook announced quietly, "I kissed Emma," ignoring David's cry of shock, he carried on, now speaking directly to the blonde girl as though there was no one else nearby, "I know you said it was just a one-time thing, and I know that you probably think of it as nothing more than just a kiss, but I don't. And I need you to know something," Hook's eyes shone brighter blue than Emma had thought possible, as though he was tearing up. She knew that confusion and fear were plainly written across her face right now... he had always been able to, in an instant, break down the walls that she had so carefully built up to protect herself.

"What?" she asked in a cracked whisper, as though anything louder would start a landslide of emotions that she wasn't sure she would be able to get under control. Hook seemed to feel the same way because his next words were in an urgent whisper, "I love you Emma. You're the only one who has enabled me to move on from my feelings for Milah. You've been able to break down every barrier I ever put up around myself and you see me for who I truly am," he saw that Emma's face had twisted into a mix of emotions that even he couldn't decipher. Taking a deep breath, he ended his speech by saying, "But I know you love Neal, and even if you didn't, you could never love just a pirate like me. I love you Emma, and because I love you, what I want more than anything is for you to be happy," he took a deep breath, "with your true love," he gestured with his hand to Neal, imprisoned in the cage a hundred feet away.

Emma barely noticed the ground shake as a stone bridge began to fill part of the gap between them and Neal. She could only stare at Hook, who had turned his back to her and was once again staring into the seemingly bottomless pit in front of them. David and Mary-Margaret watched wide-eyed for a moment longer before turning to face each other.

Somewhere in Emma's brain it registered that her parents were talking. Something about a baby and mothers and leaving Neverland. Her mind though, was too busy to pick up any of the details. All she could do was replay the words that Hook had spoken so passionately, remember how he had looked at her with pure vulnerability and pain in his eyes, and stare at the back of his black, leather jacket.

She felt as though she was subconsciously making a detailed memory of him, as if she would lose him any instant. She knew that she didn't need to... she had him memorized long ago, she had an image of him forever engraved in her mind because she had memorized him so many times. The way he strode around instead of merely walking, but could take such casual, quiet steps when he was saying something intimate, or more often a witty or innuendo-filled joke. The way his broad shoulders filled out that ridiculous leather jacket of his. The way she herself had grabbed onto the collar of said jacket to pull him into a kiss... Emma was abruptly woken from her daydreams when Hook turned to look at her and their eyes met once again. It was obvious that he had been fighting a losing battle with his emotions as he had stared into the pit. His eyes still shone with pent-up tears and his face contorted for a few fleeting moments before he was able to pull the corner of his mouth into a small smirk.

They were jolted from their shared moment however when the ground once again shook and the bridge finally filled the gap between the rescue party and the captive Neal. Pulling her gaze away from Hook, Emma started across the bridge, sword in hand.

Reaching the cage, she crouched down beside it, staring at Neal for a moment, "You alright?" she managed to stammer. "Yeah," Neal answered. Before he could say any more, Emma stood and began hacking at the cage with her sword, every stroke fueled by her pent-up emotions and confusion. "Whoa Emma! No stop!" Neal yelled, releasing her from her daze. "You know that's not how it works," he added quietly as Emma crouched down next to him again. "Yeah," she whispered, "I know." Looking into her eyes for a long moment, Neal said gently, "You know you can tell me anything." Emma met his gaze briefly before lowering her eyes.

"When I heard that you were alive and on the island, I- I was overjoyed," she began, "but I was also scared because I'm still not used to you being around, being in my life again, and the whole way to the cave I thought that I was feeling that way because- because I still loved you," meeting his eyes again, she continued, "but Neal, I don't! And I can't believe that it's taken me so long to realize that because I've spent nearly twelve years pretending that I don't care about you, but at the same time convincing myself that I do! And I do care about you Neal, and I love you because you're Henry's dad, but it's not the same, and it never will be the same as what we used to have. I'm not in love with you anymore Neal, way too much has changed for both of us," all this was said in a voice so quite that only Neal could hear her.

He had resigned himself to this fact, he knew, he had known ever since he found Emma again, that there would probably never be anything between them again. So he nodded and smiled a tight-lipped smile, squeezing her hand which rested on the bars between them. It was only then that they both seemed to realize that her confession had had no effect on Neal's imprisonment.

"Was that not your real secret?" He asked gently. Emma turned her head to look at the three people standing across the chasm from her. Then speaking as though she were talking to them, but in a voice far too quiet for them to hear, she said, "I'm in love with Captain Hook," with those words, the bars of Neal's cage melted away and he fell forward, wrapping his arms around Emma in a brief hug. Standing up, they made their way back across the bridge to the small group that stood waiting for them.

While Neal was greeted, hugged and patted on the back by David and Mary-Margaret, Hook and Emma stood awkwardly to the side, avoiding each other's eyes. When the reunion was over, they filed out of the cave, David leading the way, all glad to be out of its cheerless atmosphere. Emma started to follow her parents and Neal before she realized that Hook wasn't behind her.

Turning, she saw him standing at the edge of the chasm, with a look of such despair on his face that Emma feared for a moment that he would jump. Walking over to him in a few quiet steps, she stopped, her arm almost brushing against his as they stood in silence for a minute. Then, in a voice that plainly told Emma that he was talking just for the sake of shattering the silence, Hook asked, "So what secret did you have to give up to free Neal?"

Emma was quiet for a few moments longer as she considered her options. _I could make something up... some fake detail about my past_... No. Somehow she decided not to lie to Hook. He didn't have her superpower, but he usually seemed able to tell when she was lying. _I could always just ignore the question or brush it off with a joke or snarky comment_... but there was already so much unbridled pain in his face already. Pain that she had never known he had. Pain caused by her. She couldn't add more. _I could tell him the_- "I'm in love with Captain Hook," the words slipped from between her lips before she had even finished forming the thought.

She couldn't not tell him. Not when she could relieve a large amount of his pain by telling the truth. Yes, it might end up hurting her in the end, and if it did she would have to build up all her walls from scratch, but if it would make Hook happy to know that she felt the same way that he did, it was worth it. As the words fell from her mouth, the pain on Hook's face was replaced with confusion. "You- what?" he stammered, abandoning his usual suave, gallant self. "I love you Hook," Emma breathed, stepping forward and filling the space between them. "I don't know when or how it happened, and I'm terrified that I'll get my heart broken again, but as long as you love me back, that fear will be worth the risk and-" her rambling was cut short as Hook leaned in and kissed her, not with the same aggression or abandonment as their first kiss, but no less full of love and passion. As he pulled away and Emma opened her eyes (she wasn't even aware of when she had closed them), she saw that Hook's face once again wore its usual smirk and his blue eyes peered out at her from under his heavy brows. This was the Hook she knew, the Hook that somewhere along the line she had fallen for.

"C'mon Love," he drawled in his perfect accent as he wrapped his good arm around her waist, leading her to the exit, "Let's go catch up with that family of yours."  
_Yes_, Emma thought as they emerged into the sunlight, _this is definitely worth the risk._

**_A/N_**___What did you guys think? It's not the kind of theme I would usually write, but I quite enjoyed writing it! Please review and tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading!_


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